Following reports that Apple Inc's 4.7 iPhone 6 might come earlier in August from the previously reported September launch, analyst Katy Huberty of Morgan Stanley predicts that iPhone 6 can surpass sales of the iPhone 5s by 20 per cent.

Huberty's estimate was included in a note to investors obtained by AppleInsider.

According to Huberty, suppliers for Apple Inc said that components for iPhone 6 were being delivered at ease which kept them in schedule and ready for the expected influx of demands. This favourable condition implied that the rumoured iPhone 6 could deliver sales more than what the iPhone 5s delivered.

Also included in the note is Huberty's estimate of bill of materials for the upcoming iPhone6. The analysts placed an estimate of $30 to $40 more than the bill of materials for the iPhone 5s because of the larger screen display and improved camera.

"However, we don't detect any abnormal component pricing pressure from Apple suggesting lower inventory, deprecation, and warranty costs along with the potential for a modest price increase and/or NAND mix change may help digest the higher (bill of materials)," Huberty wrote.

Demand for smartphones with larger screen is getting stronger by the day.

A report from Canalys showed that demand for 5" smartphones represented more than a third of worldwide shipments at 34 per cent (39 per cent in greater China and 43 per cent in Asia Pacific).

The report revealed that Samsung still is the leading provider in the larger screen smartphone market segment.

"This is still a market segment led by Samsung, but the trend is unmistakably toward larger-screen handsets at the high end of the market. It held a 44% share of devices with displays of 5" and above, and 53% if the view is narrowed to look at 5.5"-plus displays," Canalys Analyst Jessica Kwee said.

Apple Inc needs to keep up with the game.

"But many other vendors, such as Lenovo, Huawei, LG and Sony, have also achieved significant volumes in this space with products at the top end of their portfolios. Consumers now expect high-end devices to have large displays, and Apple's absence in this market will clearly not last long. It is notable that 5" and above displays featured on almost half (47%) of smart phones with an unlocked retail price of US$500 or more. the remaining 53% of high-end smart phones, 87% were iPhones. Apple plainly needs a larger-screen smart phone to remain competitive, and it will look to address this in the coming months," the analyst added.